Justice News

Essex County, New Jersey, Man Sentenced To 150 Months In Prison For Armed Robbery Of Passaic, New Jersey, Club

NEWARK, N.J. – An East Orange, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 150 months in prison his role in the September 2015 armed robbery of a club in Passaic, New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Shaheed Blamahsah, a/k/a “Aboo,” 30, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Sept. 6, 2015, Blamahsah and at least two other conspirators agreed to rob a club in Passaic at gunpoint. During his plea hearing, Blamahsah admitted that he knowingly and willfully participated in the robbery and that he and another conspirator brandished a firearm and threatened to use violence against a club employee. He also admitted that he and the other conspirator took $26,084 in cash from the club before fleeing in a getaway car.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Blamahsah to five years of supervised release.

Blamahsah was originally charged in November 2016 with Jimmy Cooper, a/k/a “Flip,” 32, of Irvington, New Jersey, and Keontrae Lawrence, a/k/a “Taz,” 29, of South Orange, New Jersey. Lawrence pleaded guilty on Sept. 7, 2017 and awaits sentencing. The charges against Cooper are merely allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, and members of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, with the investigation. He also thanked the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, the Passaic Police Department, and the Newark Division of Public Safety for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine K. Lou of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.